Women's Chant Performed in Halifax
Anonymous 4 Interprets Salzinnes Antiphonal in '07 Scotia Music Fest
The Salzinnes Antiphonal, a 16th century manuscript, has been undergoing transcription for the past year at Dalhousie University in Halifax. Musicologist Jennifer Bain transcribed the music as part of her graduate studies research, while soprano Sarah Barrett-Ives, a third-year vocal performance student at Dalhousie, helped to interpret the music. On Saturday, Oct. 27, Anonymous 4 "premiered" the work for the modern world at St. Mary's Basilica in Halifax, during the Scotia Festival of Music.
The manuscript, called the Salzinnes Antiphonal, illustrates the variety of chant sung by women. The music was originally written for a Cistercian convent located in Salzinnes, a Belgian village near Brussels. Bain notes that though many people think of male monks when they think of medieval chant, the manuscript proves that nuns were also performing chants within their abbeys.
An antiphon is the response sung after a psalm or other reading/chant in the service, and the idea of call-and-response carries over into antiphonal music. To perform an antiphonal piece, multiple groups of singers position themselves on either side of the cathedral sanctuary. As the singers call back and forth to each other, they achieve the early music version of surround sound, filling up the acoustic space between them.
The manuscript currently belongs to St. Mary's University. Though the manuscript was originally created for wealthy nuns in Belgium, it turned up in Villa Maria, the Halifax Catholic bishop's residence. Most likely, the manuscript traveled over the Atlantic in the 19th century with Bishop William Walsh, who brought several devotional objects to Halifax.
Anonymous 4: Woman's A Capella Quartet
A quartet of women's voices, Anonymous 4 specializes in interpreting early music, folk and other forms of a capella music for high voices. To date, they have albums featuring chant, madrigals, Celtic carols, Sacred Harp and spirituals. Given the nature of their focus, most of their repertoire is sacred.
The ensemble was founded in 1986 and consists of Marsha Genensky, Jacqueline Horner, Johanna Maria Rose and Susan Hellauer. Their performances typically include poetry readings and narrative interspersed with the music. Blending their love of early music with an interest in the 20th and 21st centuries, the group has also premiered works by Peter Maxwell Davies, John Tavener, Steve Reich, and Richard Einhorn.
For more information on the Salzinnes Antiphonal and for pictures of the beautifully illustrated manuscript, please read the CBC article cited below. More information on Anonymous 4 (including a complete discography) can be found at their website.
Sources
"NY Quartet to Resurrect Long-lost Medieval Chant in Halifax." Oct. 27, 2007. CBC News.
